Mashed Potato Pancakes

by Heidi @ Food Doodles on March 24, 2011

The only potato pancake recipes I see on a regular basis use raw grated potato. I have to say I never had those growing up. My husband was actually the one who introduced me to them. Growing up my mom only made potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes so those are the ones I love the most.

After seeing all the colcannon recipes online after St. Patty’s day I was craving them so I made some but with some spinach I had in the fridge. Of course you can use your favorite mashed potato recipe if you’d rather do that or feel free to leave out the spinach and just use the green onions. You can also reduce the amount of pancake “batter” you make by half if you don’t have as many leftovers. I have to say besides green smoothies this is up there on my favorite ways to eat spinach because you can hardly taste it at all.

I also couldn’t choose a condiment to go with these as you’ll notice in the pictures. In the top ones there is homemade ketchup and the bottom ones have a mushroom gravy – both recipes I’ll post in the near future because they’re really good.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Mashed Potatoes:

10-12 small or medium russet potatoes

3 large handfuls spinach

3-4 green onions, white and green parts

1/4 C butter

3/4 – 1 C milk

1 tsp salt plus more to taste

Pancakes:

4-5 C leftover cold mashed potatoes

2 large eggs

1/3 cup whole wheat flour(optional)

A pinch extra salt

Cut the potatoes into chunks and cover with water. I fill my 5 quart pot about 1/2 – 3/4 full with potatoes if that helps. Boil till tender when poked with a fork. The time this takes will depend on how small you cut the potatoes. Drain. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the pot used for the potatoes and add the spinach. Add the green onions and cook till the spinach is wilted, stirring well. Add the potatoes back into the pot and mash with a potato masher. I usually leave mine with a few lumps, but mash till your heart’s content. Add in the milk and salt and mix well. Taste and add salt and milk as needed. The potatoes shouldn’t be too dry. Serve as is or cool before making pancakes.

To make pancakes, take about 4 – 5 cups of leftover cold or just cooled mashed potatoes and add two large eggs and 1/3 cup flour if desired. I forgot the flour this time but they would probably hold together better if they had it. Mix well. Also add a pinch more salt. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tiny bit of butter, about a teaspoon for the whole pan. Drop 1/3 – 1/2 cup at a time and then flatten to 1/2″ with the back of a spoon or flipper. The mixture will be sticky and wet. Cook over medium for 7-9 minutes each side checking to see that the bottom is golden before flipping. Repeat with the remaining batter or save in the fridge for a couple days. Enjoy with ketchup, gravy or just plain.

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Welcome to Food Doodles!

Hi, I'm Heidi! I'm a young mom of 3 kids ages 7 and under feeding my family real food. Heavy on the fruits and veggies but also full of healthy whole grain baked goodies, these are my experiments with good food, my Food Doodles.
Read more on my About page.